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This  book  is  DUE  on  'b-  'ast  date  stamped  below 

/...iMAL  FAMILIES 
IN  SCHOOLS 


SOUTHERN  BRANCH, 

iJNIVERSITY  OF  CALlFORiMA, 

LIBRARY, 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIF. 


■W^^A 


i  ■ 


k_:.- 


STUDY  OF 
ANIMAL   FAMILIES 

IN  SCHOOLS 

% 

Laura  B.  Garrett 


Bureau  0/ Educational  Experiments 
70  fifth  avenue,  new  york 


4  87r)7 


2  ^os/:e   /^ry 


LI3 

iSSS' 

Introduction 

Children  and  animals  have  always  seemed  a  natural  and  whole- 
some combination.  One  hates  to  think  of  a  childhood  without  pets. 
Yet  that  is  the  sort  of  barren  childhood  which  the  vast  majority  of 
our  city  children  nowadays  are  spending.  There  is  no  place  for 
these  little  dumb  friends  in  the  crowded  homes,  the  crowded  streets 
and  the  crowded  days  of  our  modern  city  life. 

As  in  so  many  other  ways,  if  old  privileges  are  to  be  kept  for 
children  under  new  conditions,  the  school  must  be  the  means  of 
bringing  this  about.  If  modern  city  children  are  to  know  the  joy, 
the  beauty,  the  significance  of  animals,  it  is  necessary  that  they  be 
included  in  the  children's  school  home.  The  description  in  a  book 
is  but  a  tame,  a  pathetic  substitute  for  the  live  creature.  A  chip- 
munk was  taken  as  a  visitor  to  a  New  York  East  Side  class.  Those 
twelve-year-old  children  thought  the  little  striped  creature  was  a 
tiger!     They  had  studied  a  tiger  in  a  book. 

To  use  animals  in  a  school  room  along  with  other  lessons  is  quite 
in  keeping  with  the  general  loosening  up  of  school  practices.  It  is 
one  more  way  of  letting  a  child  learn  through  his  natural  curiosity 
and  pleasure.  But,  like  other  expansions  within  a  class  room,  it 
involves  adaptations.  It  raises  practical  problems  which  need 
practical  answers.  Perhaps  the  answers  contained  in  the  following 
paper  may  show  teachers  how  to  open  the  doors  of  their  class  rooms 
to  admit  the  historic  friends  of  children — the  animals. 

Committee  on  Toys  and  School  Equipment 


'THE  HOME  WE  BUILT  AND  THE   FAMILY   WE  RAISED" 


STUDY  OF  ANIMAL  FAMILIES 
IN  SCHOOLS 


No  Child  should  be  allowed  to  grow  up  without  having  the  training 
which  the  care  of  pets  gives  him.  The  values  of  animal  friends  to 
children  are  so  many  that  it  is  difficult  to  think  of  them  all.  The 
most  important  is  the  joy  of  the  child  as  he  plays  with  his  friends. 
He  learns  at  the  same  time  respect  for  life,  and  incidentally  gains  an 
understanding  of  reproduction,  as  he  sees  his  pets  bearing  young, 
and  is  automatically  instilled  with  the  appreciation  of  parenthood 
and  the  cleanness  of  the  sex  instinct.  Kindliness  develops  with  even 
the  roughest  little  "tacker"  as  he  is  trained  to  handle  and  to  be 
responsible  for  the  care  of  these  friends.  The  children  also  learn 
self-control  and  become  more  quiet,  not  from  discipline  superim- 
posed by  teacher  or  parent,  but  because  they  want  to  get  closer  to 
the  pets,  and  because  they  must  be  quiet  to  see  what  the  animals  do. 
The  whole  subject  of  sanitation — which  greatly  needs  to  be  taught 
in  a  vital  way  to  the  children  in  the  public  schools — can  be  taught 
in  connection  with  animal  study:  proper  housing,  ventilation,  clean 
food,  and  the  protection  of  the  animals  from  their  own  excreta. 

Criticisms  of  Work  With  Animals 

Many  people  feel  that  there  are  so  many  objections  to  work  with 
animals  that  it  is  not  wise  to  take  it  up  in  the  city  schools.  Thus 
it  seems  that  the  only  children  who  may  realize  the  joy  of  knowing 
animals  are  those  who  live  in  the  country.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
country  children  acquire  knowledge  of  animals  and  their  habits, 
without  that  correct  scientific  study  and  ethical  training  which 
should  always  accompany  work  with  animals,  if  it  is  to  be  of  educa- 
tional value.  The  chief  objections  to  work  with  live  animals  in  city 
schools  are  these: 

1.  That  the  animals  lose  their  freedom  and  that  this  reacts  upon 

the  children; 

2.  That  it  is  difficult  to  keep  them  clean; 

3.  That  they  distract  children  from  their  work; 

4.  That  the   children   are   naturally  cruel,  and   constant   care   is 

needed  to  protect  the  animals  from  them; 

7 


5-     That  the  untrained  teacher  does  not  know  how  to  handle  ani- 
mals, nor  how  to  give  the  children  the  freedom  which   is 
essential  for  the  development  of  this  work; 
6.     That  there  is  no  one  to  care  for  animals  over  week  ends  and 
holidays. 

The  most  difficult  one  of  these  criticisms  to  meet  is,  that  we  have 
to  confine  animals  and  keep  them  under  unnatural  conditions.  Any 
one  who  loves  animals  feels  this  intensely;  but  the  value  of  this 
study  to  the  children  is  so  vastly  more  important  than  the  life  and 
comfort  of  the  animal  that,  after  all,  these  objections  are  over- 
balanced. 

The  difficulty  in  keeping  the  animals  clean  and  sanitary  is  not  in 
the  least  an  objection  to  the  work,  but  rather  a  point  greatly  in  its 
favor,  as  many  lessons  can  be  given  in  sanitation  and  hygiene,  to 
which  the  children  eagerly  listen  because  they  want  to  give  their  pets 
the  best  care. 

The  fact  that  the  animals  distract  the  children  from  their  other 
studies  may  be  of  real  good,  for  little  school-work  is  equal  in  value 
to  the  training  in  keen  observation,  kindliness  and  composure  which 
the  children  thus  learn. 

The  statement  that  children  are  naturally  cruel  is  very  true;  but 
the  training  they  get  to  counteract  this  and  the  class  ostracism 
which  is  developed  toward  the  boy  or  girl  who  is  cruel  is  most 
valuable. 

The  difficulty  of  caring  for  animals  over  week  ends  and  holidays 
is  easily  disposed  of.  The  real  difficulty  is  to  choose  from  the  big 
group  of  applicants  who  clamor  for  "One,  just  one,  to  take  home! 
Mother  is  waiting  for  one  to  visit  us!"  One  teacher  made  trips 
from  Brooklyn  to  our  school  in  Manhattan  to  care  for  a  mother 
rabbit  and  her  young.  Janitors,  too,  help  to  watch  over  the 
families. 

During  the  summer  we  have  found  a  settlement  house  glad  to 
welcome  our  pets — rabbits,  pigeons,  and  guinea  pigs.  In  the  future, 
as  more  schools  undertake  the  work,  these  animal  families  will  be 
found  valuable  assets  to  the  equipment  of  summer  playgrounds 
and  school  gardens,  and  thus  their  care  in  the  long  vacation  will  be 
hardly  a  problem. 

Values  of  the  Work 

One  of  the  most  important  values  of  the  work  is  the  training  it 
gives  to  the  teacher.     Many  of  the  teachers  know  nothing  about  the 
animals  or  how  to  handle  them.     They  are  not  accustomed  to  think- 
8 


THE  COMMITTEE,  "HAVING  OUR   PETS  PHOTOGRAPHED" 

ing  or  talking  frankly  where  sex  is  involved  and  therefore  are  easily 
embarrassed  by  the  naturalness  of  animals.  Many  of  them  are 
unable  to  teach  the  children  with  regard  to  the  animals  which  are 
mentioned  in  their  history,  geography  or  other  lessons.  Teachers 
know  little  of  their  children  except  in  the  regular  work  of  school 
routine,  and  as  the  children  become  keen  in  their  interest,  unselfish 
toward  other  members  of  the  class,  forgetful  of  the  ordinary  school 
discipline  and  quiet  in  behavior  because  of  their  new  interests,  the 
teacher  sees  a  different  group  develop  from  her  old  class. 

Another  value  is  that  of  the  mutual  interest  and  friendliness 
which  soon  grow  up  between  those  classes  having  families  of  animals 
in  their  charge.  They  soon  learn  to  lend  and  borrow  pets  and 
exchange  information  about  them. 

A  surprising  number  of  superstitions  have  been  unearthed  during 
the  study  of  animals.  The  one  we  all  think  of,  of  course,  is  that 
hop  toads  make  warts.  This  is  a  common  superstition  with  every 
nationality.  (See  Riley's  "Mr.  Hop-toad").  Interesting,  though 
perhaps  more  local,  are  these:  "Guinea  pigs  take  away  the  'sticks' 
(rheumatism).  My  father,  he  had  a  guinea  pig  that  took  away 
his  sticks.  He  let  it  run  up  his  back.  Then  he  got  well  and  could 
go  to  work,  and  he  sold  the  guinea  pig  to  a  sick  man  for  five  dollars." 
"If  you  blind  a  rat  and  let  it  run  away,  it  will  carry  all  the  disease 
out  of  the  house  and  if  you  keep  the  rat's  eyes  and  dry  them  and 

9 


hang  them  around  your  neck,  you  will  never  get  sick  any  more. 
My  brother,  he  knows  just  how  to  take  the  eyes  out  of  a  rat.  He 
can  squeeze  the  rat,  and  when  the  eyes  bulge  out  he  takes  them  out, 
and  then  he  lets  the  rat  run  away  and  saves  the  eyes.  He  knows 
how  to  do  it." 

These  are  not  isolated  stories.  The  same  or  similar  stories  have 
been  repeated  by  class  after  class  in  New  York  schools,  where  all 
the  children  have  been  ready  to  contradict  the  teacher  and  protest 
that  these  were  real  ways  to  get  well  and  keep  well.  These  super- 
stitions should  be  recognized  as  a  groping  toward  health.  They 
should  be  met  with  respect,  not  scorn,  and  the  discussion  which  fol- 
lows— perhaps  weeks  after — will  lead  to  a  better,  saner  understanding 
of  the  laws  of  health. 

The  elimination  of  fear  is  another  great  value  of  animal  study.  It 
is  very  interesting  to  study  in  our  kindergarten  classes  the  sup- 
posedly inherited  fear  of  snakes.  A  few  children  are  somewhat 
nervous  with  anything  that  moves,  but  they  show  no  more  dread  of 
snakes  than  they  do  of  any  other  animal.  In  fact,  they  are  not  so 
afraid  of  them  as  they  are  of  animals  that  move  more  quickly. 
Very  soon  all  of  the  children  learn  to  admire  the  beauty  of  color  and 
scale  markings  and  the  graceful  form  and  movements  of  the  snake, 
and  they  are  full  of  astonishment  to  learn  that  the  snake  "can  walk 
and  it  has  no  legs."  At  the  same  time,  a  careful  study  is  made  of 
the  economic  value  of  the  snake  as  the  enemy  of  rodents  and  insects. 
In  the  older  classes  the  same  work  is  done,  but  there  are  many  more 
children  here  who  have  been  taught  fear.  By  suggesting  to  the  ones 
who  show  signs  of  fear  that  they  stay  away  while  the  rest  of  us  play 
with  the  animals — snakes  in  particular — the  nervous  ones  quickly 
learn  to  touch  them  and  handle  them  without  fear.  This  elimina- 
tion of  fear  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  results  of  the  work  with 
animals. 

The  only  animals  the  city  children  know  are  the  alley  cat  and  the 
stray  dog  who  suffer  intensely  from  cruelty,  and  the  horse  who  is 
abused  by  his  driver  until  every  one  who  loves  animals  suffers  with 
him.  When  I  say  "animals  children  know,"  I  mean  the  ones  they 
can  fondle  and  love  and  care  for  or  get  near  to.  The  reaction 
against  cruelty  as  shown  by  our  children  in  their  attitude  toward 
the  above-named  animals  has  been  very  strong.  In  connection 
with  this  part  of  the  work,  classes  are  taken  to  the  street  to  study 
the  whole  problem  of  the  street  cat  with  regard  to  its  misery,  its  food 
— the  garbage — and  the  harm  it  may  do  by  spreading  disease.  In  the 
same  way  dogs  are  studied,  and  a  more  careful  study  is  made  of  the 
lO 


OUR   FAMILIES— RABBITS   AND   PIGEONS 
"We  helped  them  raise  their  little  folks." 

horses  we  see  in  the  streets.  We  study  their  loads,  their  harness, 
and  the  treatment  given  them  by  their  drivers.  Surely  those  of  us 
who  see  horses  in  the  streets  of  New  York  must  feel  that  many  of 
their  drivers  have  never  had  pets  of  their  own  when  they  were 
children.  We  have  made  a  careful  study  of  the  "Prayer  of  the 
Horse,"  by  F.  H.  Burgher,  ex-Deputy  of  the  Police  Department. 
As  a  part  of  this  study  of  street  animals  we  visit  the  blacksmith  shop 
and  stables.  Many  a  horse  has  received  better  food  or  his  harness 
has  been  readjusted  at  the  suggestion  of  a  class  of  little  folks  who 
watch  the  same  animals  from  day  to  day.  The  almost  immediate 
response  from  the  children  if  the  animals  suffer,  shows  one  of  the 
valuable  lessons  in  connection  with  the  work. 

It  is  very  interesting  to  notice  the  different  reactions  of  the  ani- 
mals to  the  children  as  they  are  fondled.  With  some  children  the 
animals  snuggle  down  and  go  to  sleep,  or  sing,  or  purr,  or  talk  to 
their  friends.  Certain  types  of  children  cannot  handle  animals  at 
all.  The  animals  run  away  or  squeal.  The  children  notice  this 
immediately.  A  sturdy  little  fellow  in  the  kindergarten  once  pro- 
tested as  a  guinea  pig  was  to  be  given  to  a  classmate.  He  waved 
his  hand  vigorously  and  said,  "Oh,  don't,  don't  give  it  to  him!  He 
has  a  'fraid!"  There  sat  a  weak,  nervous,  little  fellow  who  had 
poor  co-ordination  and  who  would  probably  have  injured  the  animal 

II 


by  nervously  throwing  it  aside.  A  long  and  persistent  training  is 
given  these  little  folks  who  are  afraid  of  the  animals  or  who  do  not 
know  how  to  handle  them.  Gradually  all  the  children  can  be 
taught,  and  their  pride  is  developed  till  they  are  able  to  announce 
that  the  whole  class  can  be  trusted. 

Method  of  Introducing  Work  Into  Schools 

This  work  should  be  introduced  in  the  school  in  the  following  way: 
First  the  animals  should  be  taken  to  the  children  as  visitors.  After 
they  have  learned  to  handle  the  pets  and  to  care  for  them,  the 
children  should  be  encouraged  to  build  homes  and  to  bring  pennies 
for  food  and  to  get  ready  for  families  they  want  to  raise.  If  they 
have  the  means,  they  should  buy  their  own  animals.  This  develops 
in  the  children  a  sense  of  ownership  which  brings  with  it  a  feeling  of 
responsibility  for  the  proper  care  and  protection  of  their  animal 
friends. 

The  work  should  be  varied  according  to  the  needs  of  each  school 
group,  for  the  interests,  superstitions  and  fears  differ  greatly  with 
the  different  nationalities  and  with  the  varying  opportunities  of 
different  children  for  knowing  animal  life. 

The  same  animal  can  be  used  throughout  all  the  grades.  The 
little  folks  show  joy  and  interest  in  observing  and  hugging  the  pets. 
As  children  grow  older  they  ask  questions  about  the  habits,  habitat, 
enemies  and  economic  uses  of  the  animals.  Gradually,  beside  all 
these  other  interests  in  the  animals,  their  place  in  the  animal  world 
and  their  values  to  man  become  of  absorbing  interest.  Throughout 
the  entire  work  sketches  are  made,  stories  told,  poems  learned  and 
games,  which  have  been  developed  by  the  children  to  represent 
scenes  in  the  lives  of  the  animals,  are  played. 

The  children  should  have  a  chance  to  select  the  pets  whenever 
possible,  or  should  appoint  a  committee  to  buy  them.  It  seems 
almost  an  inborn  trait  in  the  children  that  they  select  the  parents 
which  are  mature  and  in  a  healthy  condition.  They  reject  with 
scorn  any  animal  which  does  not  look  well.  Parents  which  have 
different  genetic  traits  should  always  be  selected.  For  instance,  a 
white  (albino)  doe  mouse  and  black  or  lilac  buck;  in  guinea  pigs,  a 
short-haired  English  male  with  an  Abyssinian  female.  Where  there 
is  an  opportunity  for  raising  chickens,  an  interesting  cross  is  that 
between  a  bantam  rooster  and  a  Plymouth  Rock  hen.  The  children 
notice  the  traits  of  the  parents  cropping  out  in  the  second  and  third 
generation  and  soon  announce  with  intense  interest  that  it  makes  a 
difference  what  kind  of  parents  the  babies  have. 
12 


Inasmuch  as  the  time  to  begin  to  teach  children  is  while  they  are 
very  young,  this  careful  selection  of  the  parents  of  their  pets  is  of 
vital  importance  and  leads  to  many  interesting  discussions  with 
regard  to  eugenics,  reproduction  and  sex  hygiene. 

The  knowledge  that  the  child  gets  about  animal  life  should  be 
accurate  and  scientific.  If  the  "life  history"  of  an  animal  is  pre- 
sented to  a  child — as  it  ordinarily  is — with  reproduction  entirely 
omitted,  it  is  not  only  a  lost  opportunity  to  give  the  child  in  a 
natural  way  the  information  which  he  may  otherwise  acquire  in  a 
twisted  way,  but  it  is  an  actual  distortion  of  fact.  It  is  essentially 
an  unscientific  point  of  view  to  expurgate  your  material  for  ulterior 
purposes.  This  does  not  mean  that  reproduction  should  be  stressed. 
It  should  not.  It  should  merely  be  treated  honestly  as  a  part  of  the 
situation  when  it  really  is  a  part.  It  thereby  becomes  related  to 
something  understandable  and  ceases  to  have  the  glamor  of  mys- 
tery. The  children's  own  questions  and  attitudes  are  the  best  guide 
in  this  matter.  This  teaching  when  young,  prepares  the  children 
for  a  better  understanding  and  respect  for  the  great  surge  of  the 
creative  instinct  which  comes  to  them  later. 

These  discussions  arise  as  an  inherent  part  of  the  study  of  animals. 
They  create  no  undue  interest  and  are  very  normal;  they  simply  fall 
into  their  rightful  place. 

In  connection  with  this  animal  work.  Dr.  Hornaday,  the  director 
of  the  Bronx  Zoological  Garden,  loans  animals  to  supplement  our 
school  study,  and  animals  are  chosen  which  are  either  related  to  our 
residents  or  which  are  a  strong  contrast.  The  immediate  result  is 
that  the  children  want  to  go  out  of  the  school  and  to  other  parts  of 
the  city  to  study  the  animal  life  they  find. 

The  Museum  of  Natural  History  loans  mounted  animals  (cousins 
of  pets)  which  are  studied  with  great  care  and  with  much  interest 
after  the  children  have  become  familiar  with  the  live  animals. 
Whenever  young  children  are  given  their  freedom,  though  wonder- 
fully mounted  animals  are  at  their  disposal,  they  crowd  around  one 
little  moving  animal  and  desert  the  mounted  specimen  altogether. 

Laura  B.  Garrett 

New  York,  March  191 7 


13 


WE  STUDY  THE  ANIMALS  OF  THE  STREET 


A   BETTER   WAY   OF  CARING   FOR   THEM 


ANIMALS  USEFUL 
IN  THE  SCHOOL 


FISH  must  be  kept  in  a  rectangular  aquarium.  They  are  gen- 
erally over-fed,  and  if  kept  in  globes  they  smother  for  want  of  air. 
There  is  probably  no  pet  in  the  city  homes  which  is  more  generally 
kept  and  more  abused  than  gold  fish  (dealers  are  interested  only  in 
selling  globes  and  fishes).  A  book  on  the  care  of  aquaria  can  be 
obtained  from  the  Aquarium  Society  at  Battery  Park. 

Two  aquariums,  one  for  fish,  tadpoles  and  snails,  and  another  for 
snails  only — where  both  life  breeding  and  egg  laying  varieties  may 
be  kept — are  valuable  in  the  school-room.  If  a  well-balanced 
aquarium  is  kept  in  the  school  and  the  children  are  taught  about 
the  relation  of  plants  and  animals  to  each  other,  the  lesson  of  mutual 
helpfulness  is  thus  taught  without  any  moralizing  on  the  subject. 

Various  sized  aquariums  can  be  used  in  the  school  room,  costing 
from  $2.50  up.  The  bottom  should  be  covered  three  inches  deep 
with  sand  and  pebbles  which  have  been  boiled  to  kill  all  germs  before 
being  placed  in  the  aquarium.  Then  various  water  plants  should 
be  placed  in  the  aquarium  and  allowed  to  root  there  about  a  week 
before  any  fish  are  put  into  the  tank.  The  fish  should  be  fed  regu- 
larly every  other  day  and  given  only  the  amount  of  food  which  they 
eat.  All  extra  food  should  be  taken  out  of  the  aquarium  and  not 
allowed  to  sour  in  the  water.  There  are  many  beautiful  details 
about  the  aquarium  life  which  can  be  got  from  books  on  the  care  of 
aquaria.  Fish  respond  to  friendliness  and  learn  to  eat  from  the  hand. 

PIGEONS  can  be  raised  in  the  school  room  and  have,  in  one 
class,  had  the  freedom  of  the  whole  class  room.  They  learned  to 
drink  from  the  cups  on  the  window  sills  and  the  children  scattered 
peas  and  grain  in  certain  places  on  the  floor  for  them.  These  pets 
built  their  nests  and  raised  their  squabs  to  maturity  in  the  class 
room.  Pigeons  are  valuable  because  of  their  variety  of  color,  their 
gentleness,  their  incessant  cooing  and  their  home  traits — both  par- 
ents feed,  protect  and  train  the  young.  The  parents  partially 
digest  the  food  and  regurgitate  it  into  the  mouths  of  the  young,  a 
step  to\vard  the  milk  giving  mammals. 

15 


Pigeons  that  are  confined  should  have  a  cage  which  is  a  yard 
cube  and  the  top  of  the  "house"  should  be  protected  from  the  rain 
and  sun.  The  nesting  box  should  be  at  least  6"x6"xio";  a  cigar 
box  is  very  good  as  it  is  sufficiently  large  and  it  keeps  away  lice. 
They  should  be  fed  green  food,  peas,  corn,  buckwheat,  barley,  and 
some  salt  fish  should  be  hung  in  the  cage  where  the  pigeons  can  get 
to  it.  Some  kind  of  grit  (oyster  shell,  for  instance)  should  be  kept 
in  the  cage. 

CANARIES  can  be  bred  in  the  school  room,  but  they  are  expen- 
sive, especially  since  the  war,  and  they  cannot  stand  the  changes  of 
temperature  which  occur  over  week  ends.  They  are  not  very 
practicable  except  in  places  where  much  more  care  can  be  given 
them  than  in  the  public  school.  Therefore  it  is  not  wise  to  try  to 
breed  canaries,  though  they  are  very  good  parents  and  both  male 
and  female  feed  and  care  for  the  young.  Get  books  on  breeding 
canaries,  or  better,  go  to  any  German  who  breeds  them.  A  German 
neighbor  of  mine  who  lives  in  a  tenement  can  give  more  helpful 
hints  in  ten  minutes  than  one  could  get  from  a  book  in  a  year. 

WHITE  MICE  (or  any  variety)  are  most  valuable  in  city 
schools,  as  they  need  but  small  boxes  and  they  breed  very  rapidly, 
and  both  parents,  if  well  fed,  help  to  care  for  their  young.  They 
can  be  kept  in  very  inexpensive  boxes,  which  from  time  to  time 
should  be  thrown  away  as  new  ones  are  to  be  had  at  any  grocery 
store.  For  one  pair  of  mice,  a  box  about  I2"x8"x6"  is  desirable, 
covered  on  one  end  with  ^-inch  wire  and  provided  with  a  movable, 
or  removable,  side.  All  the  rough  edges  of  the  wire  must  be  cov- 
ered to  prevent  the  mice  from  injuring  themselves.  A  smaller  box 
3"x2"x2",  without  a  bottom,  should  be  kept  inside  for  a  bed  and  a 
small  circular  opening  should  lead  into  it.  For  bedding,  sawdiftt 
or  pieces  of  paper,  which  the  mice  chew  up,  can  be  used.  They 
should  be  fed  hard  bread  to  keep  their  teeth  sharp,  and  bits  of  green 
vegetables,  small  amounts  of  oats  and  wheat;  and  the  nursing 
mothers  should  have  milk  after  the  little  ones  are  born.  In  fact, 
the  food  should  be  varied.  Plenty  of  zvater  should  be  accessible  to  all 
animals  all  the  time.  Mice  mature  in  three  months,  and  may  live 
to  be  two  years  of  age.  The  period  of  gestation  is  21  days,  and 
from  4  to  8  young  are  born  at  a  time.  The  little  ones  are  born 
naked  and  blind,  and  are  intensely  interesting  to  the  children;  they 
sometimes  think  they  are  worms  and  then  suddenly  decide  they  are 
baby  mice.  The  mother  builds  a  wonderful  nest  with  a  little  hole 
16 


for  entrance,  and  if  the  babies  are  removed,  carries  them  back  with 
great  haste,  grabbing  them  by  the  neck  or  any  part  of  their  bodies. 
Mice  mothers  differ  in  the  way  they  care  for  the  young.  At  one 
time  an  experiment  was  made  with  four  mothers  who  had  i8  young. 
We  took  all  the  young  from  their  boxes  and  put  them  outside. 
One  big,  black  mother  ran  around  the  box  and  played,  paying  no 
attention  to  the  absent  little  ones;  one  immediately  went  to  work 
and  fixed  up  all  the  nests  and  the  other  two  dragged  the  fat,  naked 
babies  and  put  them  into  the  nests  without  any  apparent  thought 
as  to  where  they  belonged.  Mice  cannot  be  handled  in  this  way 
until  they  are  about  two  weeks  old.  If  disturbed  before  this,  the 
mother  may  become  nervous  and  in  her  anxiety  she  may  kill  them. 

WHITE  RATS  (or  any  variety)  are  very  valuable  and  less 
objectionable  than  mice  in  some  ways,  as  they  have  practically  no 
odor  and  will  run  around  the  school-room  and  "make  tricks"  which 
the  children  enjoy.  The  children  immediately  learn  the  difference 
in  intelligence  between  the  rats  and  the  guinea  pigs  and  rabbits. 
A  box  2'xi'xi'  is  big  enough  for  the  rats'  home.  It  should  have  a 
^-inch  wire  mesh  side  and  contain  a  small  nesting  box  6"x4"x4". 
This  should  be  an  inexpensive  little  box  such  as  can  be  obtained  at 
any  grocery  store.  It  should  be  thrown  away  very  frequently.  Saw- 
dust, cork,  excelsior,  or  newspaper  may  be  put  on  the  floor  as  an 
absorbent.  Both  boxes  for  the  mice  and  rats  can  be  hung  by  the 
back  on  the  wall  and  thus  become  a  part  of  the  school  equipment 
in  a  very  normal  way.  The  class  can  select  a  color  and  the  box  can 
be  painted,  on  the  outside  only,  to  make  it  more  attractive.  If  the 
mice  or  rats  are  to  be  kept  where  either  domestic  or  wild  mice,  or 
rats  can  disturb  them,  the  wire  on  the  front  should  be  put  on  in  two 
layers  so  that  an  inch  or  two  of  space  lies  between  the  two  surfaces. 
This  is  to  keep  the  wild  varieties  from  disturbing  the  others,  as  they 
sometimes  bite  their  toes  and  tails.  Rats  should  be  fed  and 
watered  the  same  as  mice. 

GUINEA  PIGS — "cavies" — make  the  most  satisfactory  pets 
for  the  school-room.  They  are  clean,  have  very  little  odor,  are  per- 
fectly harmless  (in  fact,  too  much  so,  as  they  do  not  protect  them- 
selves from  the  children)  and  are  very  friendly.  They  reproduce 
rapidly  and  make  very  good  parents.  The  only  objection  to 
guinea  pigs  is  that  they  are  so  short  legged  that  the  slightest  fall, 
even  from  the  lap  of  a  child,  may  paralyze  them.  However,  though 
this  is  hard  on  the  animals,  the  children  soon  learn  to  protect  them, 

17 


and  an  occasional  tragedy  is  a  valuable  lesson.  A  box  3^x2' x  i^' 
will  house  one  male  and  three  females.  The  door  should  have  a 
half-inch  wire.  There  should  be  a  movable  box  inside  for  sleeping 
quarters.  The  nesting  box  must  be  protected  from  wet  and  damp- 
ness with  hay  or  sawdust  for  bedding.  They  should  be  given  two 
meals  a  day  (oats,  bran,  vegetables  or  greens).  Nursing  mothers 
should  have  bread  and  milk.  Plenty  of  water  should  be  provided. 
The  period  of  gestation  is  about  62  days.  There  are  from  i  to  4 
young  at  a  time  and  they  mature  in  8  to  10  weeks,  but  should  not  be 
bred  until  5  or  6  months  old.  Hence  the  sexes  must  be  separated 
when  about  4  weeks  old.  Food  cups  should  be  placed  low  on  the 
sides  of  the  cage  so  that  the  pigs  cannot  soil  the  food,  and  preferably 
should  be  made  in  such  a  way  that  only  a  small  amount  of  food  will 
come  down  at  a  time.  Water  cups  should  be  made  of  galvanized 
tin  and  should  be  of  the  kind  which  cannot  be  upset.  These  can  be 
procured  at  Wanamaker's  for  35  cents. 

RABBITS  have  always  been  loved  by  children  because  of  their 
beauty,  their  friendliness  and  because  they  stand  mauling.  Rab- 
bits are  not  affected  by  the  cold  and  can  be  kept  in  cages  in  the 
school  yards.  They  breed  very  rapidly — that  is,  two  or  three 
families  a  year — and  the  mother  shows  wonderful  care  of  her  young. 
Just  before  the  young  are  born,  she  vigorously  arranges  the  nest, 
using  straws,  hay,  etc.  Then  she  pulls  great  mouthfuls  of  fur  from 
her  breast  to  line  the  nest,  and  she  often  attacks  other  rabbits  and 
grabs  great  mouthfuls  of  fur  from  them.  After  the  young  are  born, 
she  cleans  them  and  puts  them  into  the  nest.  The  little  blind,  naked 
babies  are  a  wonderful  surprise  to  the  children.  In  a  week  the 
young  can  be  handled  and  examined  with  care,  and  from  then  on 
they  are  a  source  of  constant  joy  and  interest.  (When  handling  the 
little  ones,  rub  the  hand  over  the  nest  and  then  over  the  mother 
so  that  she  will  not  be  disturbed  by  a  strange  odor.  She  may  kill 
her  young  if  frightened).  There  are  no  animals  that  are  more 
abused  than  rabbits  by  pet  fanciers.  They  not  only  lift  rabbits  by 
the  ears,  but  tell  children  that  this  is  the  way  to  handle  them.  Of 
course  the  ears  are  surrounded  by  blood  vessels  and  well  developed 
nerves;  no  part  of  the  body  is  more  sensitive,  and  it  is  very  cruel  to 
lift  a  big,  heavy  rabbit  by  the  ears.  This  is,  however,  a  very  hard 
superstition  to  eliminate  as  stock  dealers  insist  that  it  does  not  hurt 
the  animal.  All  animals  need  water  and  the  succulent  vegetables  do 
not  take  the  place  of  water.  If  five  or  six  babies  are  born,  four  are 
all  she  can  care  for,  and  the  weakest  should  be  destroyed  or  should 
18 


be  taken  away  from  the  mother  and  raised  by  hand,  or  all  will  suffer. 
The  young  are  weaned  in  about  four  weeks,  and  in  about  two  months 
the  males  and  females  should  be  separated  to  prevent  their  breeding 
before  they  mature.  Rabbits  should  be  fed  hay  (clover  hay  is  best), 
oats,  greens  and  dried  bread.  Again,  nursing  mothers  should  be  given 
bread  and  milk.  A  desirable  box  is  2>^'x2'x2'  with  half-inch  wnre 
mesh  and  removable  sides.  Clean  sawdust  or  paper  should  be  put 
on  the  floor  and  should  be  changed  at  least  two  or  three  times  each 
week.  A  handful  of  Sanitas  is  good  to  keep  down  the  odor  in  these 
cages.  In  cold  weather  rabbits  should  have  hay  or  straw  for 
bedding. 

48757 


S'    UTHERN  BRANCm, 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA, 
LIBRARY. 

iLOS  ANGELES,  CALIF. 


The  Marchbanks  Press  New  York 


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